


I'm Gonna Try (with a little help)

by theheartfalls



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 15:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/599220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theheartfalls/pseuds/theheartfalls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry works in a coffee shop and his regulars become his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is headed anywhere, to be perfectly honest. It's just kinda... happening. Enjoy! Many thanks and all my love to my beautiful friend Oddny for beta-ing this for me.

The coffee shop was on the corner of the street, right in the busiest part of town. It was barely a block away from the local university, surrounded by taller buildings like law offices and banks. Across the street, there was a park and, near that, there was a group of apartment complexes that were mostly inhabited by college students or bachelors with a partying nature.

Harry lived about ten minutes away, in a small, dingy apartment. Every day for the better part of the last two years, he followed and repeated the same routine. Mostly, it included classes at the university, followed by late nights at the clubs nearby; however, his favorite part of the day, without fail, was going into work at the coffee shop.

The owner of the shop was a tiny woman with graying hair and an extensive collection of ugly jumpers that she modeled every single day. She had a sense of humor that Harry had instantly understood and she had hired him without a second thought. He had barely asked for an application before she was throwing an apron at him and teaching him how to use an espresso machine. 

 

At first the job was just a way to pay rent. He worked after school and on weekends, longing for an escape from the monotony of customers and caffeine he had to handle day in and day out. He’d leave as soon as Greta would let him and come in with seconds to spare for his next shift.

 

That changed, though, when Greta got sick one morning and couldn’t open. It was a Saturday, Harry’s first free day in months, and he had big plans. Plans that involved pajamas and movies and, possibly, not showering or leaving his apartment. He was right in the middle of part one of his big day off, which involved sleeping until two in the afternoon, when his phone became an unwanted alarm clock. 

 

Greta always teased him, saying that he had too kind of a heart for a boy of his age in this world. On mornings like that Saturday, he had wished he could ignore that “too kind heart” and just not answer the phone, but, of course, he couldn’t. He knew he sounded half dead and annoyed, but Greta either didn’t care or didn’t notice.

After a quick explanation of the situation and rules about opening, Greta hung up with a cheerful “You can do this!” that left Harry with no other choice but to drag himself out of bed and down the street. 

Opening was what made Harry fall in love with the shop. He found himself enamored with the early morning crowd; the little old ladies who came first thing for tea or the college students who looked like they were barely awake at all or the businessmen on their way to work every single day. They became the reason Harry got out of bed each day. After that first morning, he did everything he could to spend more time there. He changed his school schedule, taking night classes instead of daytime ones. He created new habits, especially when it came to time management, waking up earlier and leaving work later every day.  
Harry wasn’t sure how it happened – how his perspective changed so quickly - it just did. Before, he had spent his life waiting for minutes to pass, classes to end, shifts to be over. He had never found any motivation or desire to actually accomplish something. He never looked forward to anything; he, merely, went through life, task to task, doing what he was told without any thought or care.

But now, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Instead of wanting moments to end, he found himself getting excited for new opportunities, events, and experiences to start. He had something he truly cared about and he grasped it, reveled in it, soaked it all in…  
Until the day he met Zayn Malik.

~

Zayn was an art student.

Harry knew that immediately. It would have been just a guess if it had just been because of the tea Zayn ordered and the way he dressed in tattered plaid shirts and ripped jeans that looked like they belonged in a trash bin. Harry was even more convinced by the rumpled up cash he pulled out of his pockets to pay, or the way he almost smirked but didn’t as he looked at Harry each morning after the beginning of the semester. Harry told himself he was just assuming things, at first, but it became obvious once he saw the chalk smudged across his fingers and the flecks of paint in his hair that he hadn’t taken the time to wash out.

Zayn became a regular.

Without fail - and Harry had timed it for a week straight - Zayn dragged himself into the coffee shop at 7:02 on the dot, dropping his bag in the chair of the corner table before slipping up to the counter and leaning against it like he was about to fall over. He would hang his head, scrub his face with his hands, and sigh, dramatically, most mornings before giving Harry a pitiful look. 

“How late last night?” Harry started asking, because he could tell Zayn didn’t know the meaning or necessity of a full night of rest. 

Zayn would just shrug, because he could always be at the coffee shop on time, but he would never check a clock once he had started drawing or painting or sculpting. Instead, he would just go until he ran out of steam or supplies.

Zayn liked to talk while Harry made his chai tea each day. Harry would work and Zayn would chatter, going on about whatever piece he was working on or whatever teacher he had to deal with that day or “the understated lack of talent I’m being forced to learn about. I mean, honestly, a toddler could paint better than some of these wankers!” 

Harry would just nod or laugh even if he didn’t fully understand whatever he was going on about. Then Zayn would take his tea and retreat into the corner until he had to go to class, leaving Harry to himself and his other customers until the next morning. 

Zayn became one of Harry’s Absolute Favorites. 

Then, one morning, Zayn brought a friend.

The boy was blonde in the extremes, almost bleached out even underneath the hat he wore, pulled down low like he was trying to cover his eyes from the minimal sunlight of the early morning. He had a lazy way about him when he walked in behind Zayn, dropping into a chair at Zayn’s table with no pretense of anything but absolute exhaustion, dropping his head to the table immediately. 

And Zayn just smiled as he made his way to the counter, looking at Harry differently than he ever had before. 

“This is unexpected.”

As soon as Harry uttered the words, Zayn’s face fell a little and Harry cursed himself because really? 

“He’s cute.” he added immediately, which seemed to fix it a little bit. Zayn smiled again and Harry couldn’t ask for much more than that. “But I don’t think tea is going to fix all of that.” he added with a slight smirk. Zayn chuckled and nodded. 

“Better make it a coffee this morning.” he agreed, though the idea brings a slight sneer to his face. He had always been morally opposed to coffee, or so he liked to say. “Tea will fix the world, Harry. Coffee will just keep it up late at night.” 

So Harry set to work on Zayn’s tea and his friend’s coffee and Zayn fell back into old patterns, starting in on a tale of an art gallery he had attended the night before.

“I’m telling you, it’s the first time in the last year that I haven’t had the urge to rip my eyeballs out over a Van Gogh knock off. Creative genius. Seriously.” he went on, tapping his fingers, on the counter, in a pattern that had become familiar to Harry. “And Niall’s dad was the building’s owner, which is how…” 

He trailed off and Harry couldn’t help but look up at him, noticing how he was gazing back at his table and smiling only a little, like it was a secret he was keeping. 

“Y’know.” he finished when he caught Harry looking. 

And Harry knew because he had a secret he was keeping, too.

And he wasn’t mad or upset. He wasn’t. He just made coffee and tea and he handed them over and that was the end of it. 

Because he always forgot that when Zayn dragged himself out of the shop every morning, he didn’t just fade into the pavement and disappear. He lived and did things for himself that didn’t involve chai or Harry at all. 

So maybe Harry should have been learning to do the same. Maybe he should have stopped restraining himself to his one Absolute Favorite. 

Maybe it was time for him to broaden his horizons. 

~

His chance came in the form of a business tycoon’s son named Liam Payne. 

Liam stumbled into the shop nearly a week later, eyes drooping with sleep, hair tousled, his haggard face a direct contrast to the neatly-ironed suit he was wearing. He walked up to the counter with confidence, pulling out his wallet as he went.

“Two coffees. Black. To go.” he said briskly, all business even with the hint of sleep in his voice.

Harry didn’t question him, simply nodding and setting to work. It only took seconds for him to hear a heavy sigh from behind him and he turned away from the cups he was filling to look at Liam again.

“I’m sorry, that was rude.” Liam said immediately, regret lacing his words. “It’s just…early. And I’m nervous. First day and all that.” he said, a remorseful smile playing on the edge of his lips.

Harry returned it, understanding that better than Liam could know as he capped the cups and handed them over, waving away the money. “On the house. For good luck.” he told him decidedly, figuring two coffees wouldn’t break him or Greta at this point.

Liam smiled fully at that, straight, white teeth showing fully and eyes shining. “Thank you.” he said, voice earnest with sincerity, before he turned to leave.

Harry’s good deed for the day brought Liam back the day after that, always with a bright smile and an order of two coffees as he paid from then on out. He even started to stop by on weekends, looking more natural in track pants or jeans and a t-shirt. Some mornings he brought his dancer girlfriend, Danielle, with him and she was sweet as anyone Harry had ever met, joking with him about how Harry was on the verge of stealing Liam away. 

“He always did like curly hair.” she teased, reaching over the counter to tug at a strand of hair above his ear. “Plus, you make really good coffee. Watch your back, barista boy. I actually want to keep this one,” she added with a wink to show she was just teasing.  
Harry just chuckled before going to make their drinks, trying not to stare as they became too wrapped up in each other that no one else seemed to exist. 

On days that Danielle wasn’t with him, Liam would talk about her. Topics of conversation with Liam always followed the same threads; school, Danielle, or sports. One subject that was never broached was work and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Liam liked it that way. 

He never asked, Liam never told, and things fell into a nice, easy pattern. 

So Harry had Zayn, and sometimes Niall in the mornings, and Liam mostly in the afternoons or before dawn or even both. Niall, who had taken to coming by on his own after he had “the strongest coffee ever, and I lived with Colombians once!”, which slotted him his own place on Harry’s list.

And he was content with his favorites now. 

Until Liam introduced him to Louis.

~

Louis Tomlinson defied everything Harry had ever known. He broke all the rules, tore down all the barriers. He changed Harry’s entire perspective on life from his very first visit.  
As he walked into the coffee shop beside Liam, Louis was talking on his cell phone, loudly, and didn’t seem to recognized another living soul as he argued with the person on the other line. “No. No, Stan. Listen. You gotta be there-“

“Afternoon, Harry,” Liam seemed to realize his friend’s lack of manners, shaking his head as he greeted Harry and made his way over to place his order.

“Green tea or mocha today?” Harry asked him, because if Louis wouldn’t acknowledge him, Harry could do the same. He would have, however, expected Liam to have friends with better manners. It only seemed natural.

Liam laughed at the question, shrugging. “Why not surprise me today?” he requested and Harry went straight to work, keeping it all behind machines so Liam couldn’t even see what he was making.

Louis remained on his phone throughout the entire process, arguing and interrupting the person on the other line right up until Harry set Liam’s drink on the counter. He tucked the cell phone back into his pocket as Liam paid and finally seemed to notice Harry for the first time. 

“Alright so Liam tells me you’ve got the best coffee he’s ever had.” he said by way of greeting and Harry was the furthest from amused. 

“We probably do, though I wouldn’t be one to brag.” he replied simply, because it was better than seeming totally arrogant. 

The way Louis smiled at him had Harry on edge. It wouldn’t be the last time Louis surprised him, either.

Louis’ second visit was purely of his own accord. Harry had barely been inside twenty minutes, still setting up and not expecting a single soul for at least an hour, when the bell above the door chimed. Startled was an understatement, and he made his way out from the back and to the counter with a bit of uncertainty. 

“I hope you’re actually open and this isn’t a case of breaking and entering.” Louis said once he spotted Harry. He was still standing by the door and Harry couldn’t help but scrutinize him as he approached.

On his first visit, Louis had been wearing a dress shirt and pants and looked like he had just gotten out of a string of meetings and work-related things. This time, he had on sweats and a thick sweatshirt and looked like he may have just crawled out of bed. His fringe peaked out from under his beanie and he was standing awkwardly, whereas last time he had been all confidence and strong smirks. 

“We’re open.” Harry assured him, going over and starting up the coffee pot. “What can I get for you?” he asked as he moved around and started getting everything together.  
Louis leaned against the counter, arms folded and eyes following Harry around. “I have to apologize, actually.” he said quietly and Harry stopped in the middle of setting up the coffee grinder to look over at him. “Liam didn’t tell me you were a friend and he assures me that I was an absolute prick the other day.” he clarifies.

Harry set down the bag of coffee beans and turned to face Louis now, arms crossed over his chest as he took all of this in. “You may have been.” he agreed a little. 

Louis smiled at that. “I don’t always know how to be nice in social situations.” he remarked with a long-suffering sigh. “It’s my one flaw.” 

“One?” Harry retorted before he could help himself. Louis openly laughed at that, pushing away from the counter. “Sorry, that was rude.” he added, though he was chuckling as well.  
Harry had misjudged him. He could see that already and he knew it was unfair that he formed opinions based on the first meeting. Impressions were everything but Louis was doing his level best to reform Harry’s opinion of him now and Harry could recognize that.  
Just like Harry had disliked Niall at the start, things could change. 

As Louis leaned on his counter and watched him work, teasing him and asking him endless questions about what he was doing, Harry couldn’t help but question Louis’ motives. Sure, Harry was personable and outgoing, which gave him the ability to make friends easily, but after their first encounter, he had just assumed Louis was uninterested. This complete switch was throwing Harry way off, but intriguing all the same.

Just like with Zayn and Liam after him, Louis became a regular and Harry wouldn’t admit it just yet, but Louis was definitely working his way up on Harry’s list.

He needed a new Absolute Favorite anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is a whirlwind of complications, and Harry might like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More thanks to my beta, Oddny! She's a real trooper, because sometimes I truly suck!

It was an early morning at the coffee shop and Harry was going through the motions, just as he did every single day. He was already grinding up coffee beans and preparing different teas and desserts that Greta had decided they absolutely had to sell. He had swept the lobby twice and wiped down the counter three or four times more than was absolutely necessary and if he was honest with himself…

He was bored.

Zayn wouldn’t be in that morning, due to an early exam he had warned Harry about the day before. Liam hadn’t dropped in yet and Harry knew that meant he wouldn’t be in until later in the afternoon. He had another hour or so until he could ever consider to expect Niall and that was all he had to look forward to. 

Ever since his job had become less about the coffee and more about the customers, he was always desperate for some sort of company. The old ladies that came for Earl Grey and the business men who needed their caffeine fix were nice for the fleeting moments that they were there, but it wasn’t enough to keep his attention from wandering and leaving him sighing heavily every few seconds.

It could have been minutes or hours - he couldn’t really tell because he had forced himself not to look at the clock obsessively - but eventually the door did chime and he nearly tripped his way out of the back storage area to greet the customer he had long been awaiting.

…and froze almost instantly upon seeing Louis walking toward him, a smirk plastered on his face. 

Harry hadn’t seen Louis in a week, which wasn’t surprising seeing as he wasn’t nearly as frequent a customer as any of the other boys. Every visit was a shock to Harry and he hated to admit that he found himself eager for it every single time. 

Louis was like a swinging pendulum, drifting from one side of the spectrum to the other. He could come in some days with a bright, cheery smile and a joke or two to tell while Harry made his coffee. Other days, he was grouchy and demanding, though still complimentary in a snarky way that Harry had grown to understand, even if he didn’t quite enjoy it. 

Today seemed to be a good day for Louis, with his five o’clock shadow and his pajama bottoms still on. He may have just rolled out of bed, but he didn’t look any less happy for it.

“Good morning, Harry,” he greeted brightly before Harry could manage to sort through his thoughts and speak up like he knew he should have. “You look like you could use some business.” 

Harry cleared his throat and managed to nod, forcing himself back into a business attitude. “More than you know.” he agreed easily, his brain breaking through the fog that always consumed it whenever he saw Louis again.

It was like this every single time, always so startling and confusing. Every time Louis re-entered the shop, Harry had to reacquaint himself and get over the strange changes that Louis seemed to undergo every time he reappeared.

As Louis leaned against the counter now, rambling on about a class he had to attend today, Harry was struck once again by the idea that maybe Louis had multiple personalities. Maybe he was a twin and they had set up an elaborate plot to ruin his life. Maybe…

“Do you believe in fate, Harry Styles?” 

Harry looked up from Louis’ coffee and quirked an eyebrow in question. “Fate?” he asked, setting down the mug. He went over to Louis now, leaving the counter space between them but mirroring his leaning stance, putting one hand on his chin and grinning a little. “What do you mean by fate?” 

Louis seemed to contemplate Harry for a moment, the eyes on level with each other in this new position of Harry’s. There was a curl to the corner of Louis’ mouth, like he was trying his hardest not to smile and remain serious. 

“Fate, young Harold. The molding of the universe before it was even fully formed. The idea that our destiny was predetermined and we have no hand in our own futures.” 

Harry watched Louis speak and couldn’t quite stop the soft chuckle he let out. “You mean you think that no matter what we do, we are going to end up one way and one way only? Our actions mean absolutely nothing?”

It was possible that this philosophical Louis was Harry’s favorite thus far.

Louis nodded in agreement with Harry’s question. “Why not? Seems possible, right? It’s all just the way it’s meant to be, right from the start,” he continued thoughtfully and Harry pushed away from the counter with a slight shake of his head, leaving Louis grinning behind him. “Come on, Harry, you have to admit it’s an interesting thought.” 

“It’s a good theory, I guess,” Harry assented, if begrudgingly. “But why do you ask?” he added as he went back to making coffee.

Louis stayed silent for so long that Harry almost thought he actually wasn’t going to answer him. He did, eventually, but his voice was much quieter than Harry was used to. “I like the idea that there’s something to look forward to.” 

Harry turned and placed the coffee cup on the counter, studying Louis’ face now. He didn’t argue, didn’t try and refute him, because… It was a nice thought, really. Louis wasn’t wrong. 

Placing money on the counter, Louis took his cup and started to head to the door. The bell jingled over head as he pushed his way out, but he turned to look back.

“I think it was fate that we met,” he said, a grin on his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

And with that, as abrupt as it was, Louis was gone and Harry was alone once more.

He wasn’t nearly as bothered by the silence anymore.

~*~

It was later that afternoon, after the mad rush of commuters and students fresh out of class, that Liam and Harry were mostly alone in the shop, save for an older couple that had taken up a table as far from the counter where the boys stood as possible. 

It was just as well because Harry felt he desperately needed to talk to Liam right about now. He also knew that Liam was the only person he could talk to about this. As insightful and intelligent as Zayn was, he didn’t know Louis; and Harry wouldn’t even begin to pretend that Niall would have a clue how to help him here. At least, with Liam, there was already some common ground and understanding; there was already a link. 

So, after making Liam’s afternoon coffee and giving him a free pastry to butter him up, Harry sat him down and told him what happened that morning. He had gone over it so many times in his head that he had Louis’ precise words memorized and didn’t hesitate to quote him directly.

The dumbstruck look on Liam’s face when he finished was enough to send anxiety pains shooting through his abdomen. He couldn’t help but grimace as the silence grew between them, finally breaking when it seemed as if Liam had possibly gone into shock.

“You have to tell me what you’re thinking,” he demanded, because it wouldn’t be good for business if he got sick all over the front counter. He really didn’t need the wrath of Greta on top of all of this. 

Liam blinked rapidly once, twice, three times…

“I haven’t heard Louis talk like that in…” he trailed off, brow furrowing as he tried to remember. “It’s been years.” he finally decided, frowning a little. “That’s so unlike him. He’s usually so-“ 

“Confusing? Cynical? Wishy-washy?” Harry interrupted, ticking off the options using his fingers now. 

Liam glared at him. “I was going to say uptight,” he argued, though he didn’t really seem to disagree with Harry at all. “I mean, maybe four years ago, back when we were still in school, he would have thought things like that. Back when he was still looking at drama schools instead of law. But now? That’s just strange.” 

Drama schools? Harry had been startled for all of two seconds before he considered how much that might actually explain. Louis Tomlinson, the boy with a thousand faces, wanted to be an actor. So many mismatched puzzle pieces fell into place in Harry’s mind with that revelation.

“Why did he go to law school?” Harry asked finally, completely distracted from his original topic now. 

Liam seemed to not have realized he had been rambling on about Louis’ business until Harry started to dig and his eyes widened considerably. “Oh no,” he started, shaking his head furiously. “That’s his story, not mine. You can ask him. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut,” he added, a blush tinting his cheeks lightly. 

Harry just nodded his understanding, pushing away from the counter then to make busy work for himself. His mind was buzzing with new information, none of his previous questions even answered. He had one thousand and one things to think about and no idea why he cared so much.

If he had known Louis was going to become such a strain on his mind, he might not have accepted an apology so quickly that second day.


End file.
